Deerhunter

FWIW, I think these deserve more than one reading in one's motorcycle riding life - http://www.canyonchasers.net/reference/the_pace.php and http://www.sportrider.com/features/1...rol/index.html .

And this just in from CNN http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/30/mar...les/index.html.

lena

Oh, the Pace! Very good info, I am glad you dug it up.

Dragon Rider

good idea, I hadn't seen the second one before.

Buzzy

Good read, thanks

Transported

Perhaps this could serve as a warning to all new riders (i.e., those with less than a year or two and fewer than 10,000 miles).

Riding is a challenge to even the most athletic and experienced among us. There are an infinite number of variables you might face on any ride, and the more of them you recognize the better you will be. It takes years to build up an experience base that you can draw on to predict accident situations. You can't expect to be fully proficient in months, let alone years. So, the best thing is to know how much you don't know.

As speed multiplies your potential incidents and cuts down on your reaction time, my best advice is to keep your pace at a comfortable level. If you sense your heartrate increasing or your grip on the handlebars tightening, then back off, wave the person behind you through and concentrate on your own ride.

bicycle_ben

the pace article was cool!

my bike is too old to keep up in a drag race with most of the other bikes on the ride yesterday so i just kept up a decent pace in the straights and made up for it by gliding up to people in the corners

SMOKE

So true;
Now that I've been riding for a while, I reflect back on my very first moto accidents (5years back)and realize that it was not the road conditions that I blamed back then. It was me!! and the lack of experience!
Many times we are in denial cause there are quicker riders and trying to keep up with them is just suicide.. I think every rider needs to realize this. If you are trying hard and are making no ground, there is no point in trying..

That is why I ride like an old fart! B

Be safe everyone!

BigDave

Good post!

From another who rides like an old fart!

Bing44

Well then I will chime in; I probably make all you "old farts" look like kids since I am 64.

I was impressed with Smoke's attitude. Very mature; I just hope he is sincere, and I hope others are listening.

All the reading material is only as good as the guy reading it. If he doesn't gain anything from it he is doomed to accidents. The Pace is how I like to lead rides. Unfortunately, some of the people who populated my rides didn't like it so I haven't posted a ride in a long time. Remember: if you want to be faster than the next guy, do it on the track. Just because you are in front of someone on the street doesn't mean you are faster, but on the track it does, and that's where competition should stay. Don't feel like a ride is competition, because that's not what it is all about.

Listen to Vaun. I know a lot of you respect him as a fast rider, but he can afford to be with so many miles under his belt. Until you have that many miles don't try to keep up with him.

I probably have as many miles in the dirt as most of you do on asphalt, and I put over 12 thousand miles on my FZ1 this year, and I don't ride to work! lol But I know instinctively when the pace is too fast for me and I wave people by then. It is no blight on your manhood; it is maturity.

I don't necessarily ride like an old fart all the time. I have seen some big numbers on my GPS max speed. The difference is knowing where to post those numbers.

See you on the next big one.

jim

307T

I'm another old fart with an opinion. It isn't so much WHAT you read as much as it is HOW you apply it. Unless you are more willing to HEAR and DO what people are telling you about riding with a margin of safety, you will kiss asphalt, or worse. As time goes on you will become more competent; not only in your riding skills but in your ability to read the environment around you - situational awareness. When you ride with others, control that urge to keep up if it puts you beyond your safety zone. They'll wait for you at the next stop. If they don't, they're not worth riding with anyway. Ride your own ride is more than just a catchy phrase. It's common sense.

Deerhunter

Got most of it.



Not sure if you missed part of it .

307T